A Peoria police officer pleaded guilty Friday to attempted obstruction of justice in connection with the probe of a drunken driving crash by a fellow officer and promptly resigned from the force.

Andy Kravetz

A Peoria police officer pleaded guilty Friday to attempted obstruction of justice in connection with the probe of a drunken driving crash by a fellow officer and promptly resigned from the force.

Sgt. Richard Glover, 41, entered his plea shortly past the noon hour after waiting for nearly two hours. The second-floor courtroom was largely empty save for two fellow officers and members of Glover’s family.

Negotiations were ongoing, it appears, with Glover’s attorney going back and forth between his client and State’s Attorney Jerry Brady. Glover, who remains free on bond, faces up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine when sentenced Oct. 4. In return for his plea, four felony counts of obstruction of justice and official misconduct were dropped.

Immediately after the plea, Glover, a veteran of the Peoria Police Department, resigned.

Glover and John Couve, 46, a former vice officer with the Peoria police, were charged in connection with a July 8, 2012, accident in the 8000 block of North Hale Avenue in which Couve crashed his unmarked police SUV into a power transformer, damaging it.

Couve pleaded guilty to attempted obstruction of justice in February. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail — serving 45 — and two years of probation. Couve retired from the force the same day that he pleaded guilty.

Two other officers — Sgt. Doug Theobald and Officer Richard Linthicum — were given 30-day suspensions for their involvement.

Neither side opted to comment after the hearing. Brady said he didn’t want to comment on a pending case.

By pleading guilty to a misdemeanor, it means that Glover could still apply for another job as a police officer and receive his pension.

No factual basis was given for the plea as it was for a misdemeanor charge. But when Couve pleaded, Brady said witnesses told police a white SUV struck the utility box and then drove off. The left front rim, witnesses told police who arrived at the accident scene, was “sparking” because of the accident and a door was hanging off the vehicle.

The accident resulted in $7,758 in damages and knocked out power to 468 Ameren Illinois customers.

Later, the SUV was found outside Couve’s home. When Glover arrived, Couve initially told him he had been home since 1 a.m. and that the vehicle was “intact,” when he parked it. But police found no evidence of forced entry into the SUV, the steering column didn’t show signs of being tampered with and the damage was consistent with being in an accident.

A few days later, Couve told Illinois State Police investigators he had gone to his home, which was a few blocks away on West MacTavish Road, after being out drinking and watching “fights.” He noticed his wife wasn’t there when he arrived at his house, and went back out. He told ISP investigators he was texting his wife when the SUV left the roadway and hit the utility box, Brady said at the earlier hearing.

Andy Kravetz can be reached at 686-3283 or akravetz@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @andykravetz.